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Time of the visit:the 23rd of oct.,2025

The Getbol Suncheon Bay in South Korea is a UNESCO-listed wetland known for its vast tidal flats and rich biodiversity( lots of birds there as well as crabs). It is a vital sanctuary for migratory birds, offering visitors scenic trails, observation decks, and a glimpse into the region’s unique coastal ecosystem.

My expectations for this World Heritage Site were low. The wetlands sounded pretty boring. I took the bus from Busan in the morning and locked my luggage in the lockers at the Suncheon bus terminal. Google Maps is pretty useless in South Korea, with one exception: it shows the bus numbers and routes. Bus 66 is supposed to run fairly frequently, so I went to the nearby bus stop. Sure enough, bus 66 arrived at the stop about five minutes later.

About 20-25 minutes later, I was at the main entrance gate and was quite surprised by the number of tourists and the tourist infrastructure. I paid the 10,000 won entrance fee and went first to the museum, which also has an observation deck. First, I watched a short film about the area. Funnily enough, a man and his wife sat down next to me. In bad English, he pointed out to me that the fisherman in the film was his brother. As I was about to begin exploring the museum, an English-speaking volunteer approached me and offered to give me a tour of the museum. I accepted, but the insight …

I had prepared both my body and mind for the adventure of a lifetime, hiking through the dense forests of Yakushima to see the legendary Jomon-Sugi Cedar Tree, a symbol of Japan’s ancient natural heritage. I imagined long trails through moss-draped cedar trees, crisp mountain air, and the quiet reverence of standing before this monumental tree, some 7,000 years old. I had even carried all my hiking equipment from home, ready for the challenge. The moment my plane arrived on the island, reality surprised me: heavy snow began to fall, an extremely rare event for Yakushima. The powder coated roads, rooftops, and trees, muting the usual sounds of the island. The snowfall was so severe that the local government had to close many roads and all hiking trails to the high mountains, including the path to Jomon-Sugi.

After two days of waiting with no change, I had to alter my plans. Thankfully, the coastal roads reopened, and during my downtime, the local hospitality lifted my spirits. Shop owners, café staff, and guides went out of their way to suggest scenic drives, hidden waterfalls, and even offered special discounts on souvenirs, turning my disappointment into small joys. I rented a car and explored the island by road, discovering Yakushima’s stunning coastal scenery. Rugged cliffs dropped into turquoise waters, waterfalls tumbled into hidden bays, and quaint fishing villages dotted the shoreline. Sakura were blooming, painting the island in delicate pinks and greens against the deep evergreens, a living watercolor. Along the …

Unlike Wojciech, when we arrived at the castle, the parking lot was deserted! It must be said that it had rained a lot the day before...

If there's one classical-style castle you shouldn't miss, this is it. Firstly, as a backdrop to its sulphurous history, and secondly, for its exceptional architecture, decor, and gardens.

As mentioned in the introduction to the TWHS, Nicolas Fouquet, the castle's commissioner, was Louis XIV's Superintendent of Finances, that is, Minister of Finance. He built the castle between 1656 and 1659 BC and the gardens between 1653 and 1660 BC.

Nicolas Fouquet surrounded himself with the most talented artists of his time: the architect Louis le Vau, the king's first architect, the painter Charles Le Brun, and the landscape architect André Le Nôtre. A true masterpiece was born from the alchemy between these three artists. They had previously been brought together at the Château de Vincennes on behalf of King Louis XIV.

Upon completion of the work, Nicolas Fouquet organized a lavish party on his estate, given in honor and worthy of his royal guest. This was enough to arouse the jealousy of the king, who had his superintendent arrested and imprisoned for life. The property was sealed and then sold, preserving it from the ravages of time. The judges at Fouquet's trial claimed that he had embezzled public funds to build this incredible monument. It is true that we learn in the museum set up in the basement of the castle and dedicated to …

The moment I landed at Québec City’s airport, I already felt something special in the air. As I walked through the terminal, I noticed the signs around me all in French. Though I knew Québec was a French-speaking province, seeing it everywhere made me feel as if I had suddenly stepped into another continent. Québec felt so special, almost like being in Europe, with its old-world architecture, cobblestone streets, and charming cafés; it was hard to believe we were still in America. It was clear: this was not just Canada; this was Québec, a place with its own character, language, and rhythm.

I was traveling with a group of friends who shared one common obsession, K-Drama, especially the fantasy series Goblin. For them, Québec City was not just another travel destination, but a film location pilgrimage. I, on the other hand, had never watched Goblin before, so I often felt a little lost as they got overly excited about random walls or street corners. Still, I couldn’t help laughing at their enthusiasm; it was both funny and endearing to see how passionately they compared every scene from the show to the real-life places around us.

Our first stop was, of course, Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that feels like Europe transplanted into North America. Cobblestone streets, slate roofs, and centuries-old façades greeted us at every corner. The air was crisp, and the faint sound of street musicians added to the romantic mood. For me, it was …

Our Ugandan road trip to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park began in Kampala, taking us via Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Park, a detour to Rwenzori National Park before reaching the legendary “impenetrable forest” in 6 days.

According to UNESCO, Bwindi is one of the few remaining large expanses of both tropical highland and lowland forest. The highlands feature steep hills and narrow valleys, with altitudes ranging from about 1,200 to 2,600 meters. Its remarkable biodiversity includes many endemic plant species and iconic wildlife such as the greater primates.

This day our group of 6 Norwegians and one South African drove through Queen Elizabeth National Park, heading south along the border with the DR Congo. We made a short stop at QENP southern tip near Ishasha and got an incredible leopard experience. Continuing south, we basically followed the DRC border, through Kihihi and Bulema, then back along the border before turning south again. We entered Bwindi from the northern side, where the map shows a narrow “bottleneck” between the lowland and highland zones near Bugiri. Our route took us through the Ruhija area in the park’s eastern part, continuing south to its southeastern edge, where we exited towards Nyamabale and eventually reached our destination for the day: Chameleon Hills Forest Lodge at Lake Mutanda—after an epic 11½ hours on the road.

The drive was both challenging and breathtakingly scenic. The road winds through steep hills, dense rainforest, and remote villages, revealing misty valleys, lush greenery, and small tea plantations …

As I am the first member of WHS.org to write about Loarre Castle, I will quickly describe the monument.

The Romanesque castle-abbey, dating from the 11th century, is located approximately 30 km northwest of Huesca, in the province of Huesca, an autonomous community of Aragon in northern Spain. It is easily accessible via the A132 road, then the A1206.

There is a small, very pleasant campsite with a beautiful view at the foot of the castle and you can climb up on foot from there. Be careful though, the markings are not very clear, you have to trust your instincts. At the castle, there is a parking lot for motorized vehicles.

In 2024, entry tickets cost €6 at the visitor center. As the castle is perched at an altitude of 1,070 meters, the 180° view of the surrounding plain is breathtaking!

From what I remember, its impregnable position on the slope of the sierra allowed the Christians to protect themselves and monitor the movements of the Muslims in the southern plain. We wander from room to room, the San Pedro church, an armory, etc. more or less in ruins, climbing stairs to an upper platform where it is still possible to climb into the dungeon and watch the paragliders move in the sky.

The castle is believed to have only been in use between 1020 and 1035 and the beginning of the 12th century. There are a few historiated capitals in the church, but the overall structure forms a rather …

The last time this site was reviewed was over 6 years ago, so it needed a refresh. We visited this site in early October 2025. We had a hire car and drove to the town of Drama for the night and then visited this site first thing the next morning. The site opens at 8.00am and for reasons not known to me I put the Museum in the GPS to take me to the site and ended up exactly there which is the other end of the Archaeological site. No problems as you can enter here and buy tickets but there is very limited parking compared to the main entry gate. It ended up being the best option though, as we explored the site with very few other people before the crowds turned up and then visited the museum at the end, again in relative peace with no large crowds. It costs 6 Euro to visit the site and 10 Euro if you included the Museum, which I did.

The site has more structures than the previous archaeological site we visited in Aigai, however there is also some imagine still needed in exploring the site. Very good information boards though are provided to assist you in this. During our visit Basilica B area was unable to visited as they were undergoing restorative and stabilisation works in the area. You could still photograph the area from a reasonable distance but really could not examine the OUV details in this particular area. …

"Durham, Avignon and Prague are cities sharing the distinction of buildings in dramatic settings that jointly express military might and ecclesiastical power. [...] Of the three, the drama is greatest at Durham..." - David Souden, England's World Heritage

Well, I admittedly can't speak for Avignon, but I don't think it's just my nationality showing through when I say that my first view of Durham's castle and cathedral shortly after arriving by train knocked St. Vitus into a cocked hat. And the buildings lived up to that first view. Durham Cathedral is a stout, solid, powerful building - almost more like Bankside Power Station than a cathedral - with an impressive interior. I particularly liked the Galilee Chapel (resting place of the father of English history, Bede), with its arches decorated with zig-zags giving it a Spanish feel. We signed up for a guided tour and the knowledgeable guide took us through the history and architecture of the building, with ample reference to its OUV, but we stayed for a good while afterwards looking around the cloisters and museums and generally taking the building in.

I expected Durham Castle to be a disappointment after that - it's a less authentic building, it's only visible via a guided tour with no room for independent wandering, and I've already experienced being a student at an English university so am not stupefied with excitement by the sight of a long wooden dining table. I'm pleased to say the tour was worth it, though: the …

General Information

San Agustín has been covered thoroughly, but I tried a new approach to reaching the site, which I believe can cave future visitors a lot of time and money, so I’m writing this review to highlight that. I’ll also share general impressions of the site.

Getting There

I did not have much time to visit, so I had to get creative because I wanted to fit both Tierradentro and San Agustín in 3 days. Having read the reviews, I knew I could fly to Popayán and then hire a private tour. I contacted several tourism companies and the best they could offer me is both sites for $500 (on top of the flight to Popayán) one day each, with each day involving very early days and 3-4 hour of driving each way. The amount of hours in a car and the cost deterred me from this option. On the other hand, I also considered taking public transport; but knowing I had very limited time, and how unreliable public transport is in the area, I decided this wouldn‘t be an option for me either.

Instead, I noticed there are 2 daily flights between Bogotá (BOG) and Pitalito (PTX), a relatively smaller city that is only 30 min away from San Agustín via car. Since I also wanted to visit Tierradentro, I rented a car from a local company called Presta Cars, which gave me a lot of freedom to go as I please between locations. I covered more of …

There are 14 texts before mine and the vast majority of them are rather positive.

I had already visited the walled city as a child with my parents and then later a second time with my children, but in 2023, my wife and I returned with the WHS filter in our eyes.

We arrived by bike from the Canal du Midi, crossed the new town from the canal port and the old bridge (the introductory photo) then climbed the slope to the main entrance of the old town, on the east side, where a priest was blessing bikes and cyclists, strange!

And since you cant' teach an old dog new tricks, seeing a delirious crowd crowding at the entrance to the City where buffoons were clowning around in period costume,

We decided to let the tourists crowd into the narrow streets while the cyclists toured them peacefully... via the lices (Double rampart), which is great because there aren't many remains of this type left in Europe. And their size is impressive!

I will not return to the controversy surrounding Viollet-le-Duc's interpretation of the medieval fortified town, contrary to the theories of John Ruskin, but it should be noted that his idealized approach is the very foundation of modern heritage conservation methods, a counter-reaction to his work, if I may say so! The best thing to do is to go and see his greatest achievement, in the Oise, the Château de Pierrefonds, which he almost entirely rebuilt. And we must not …

My friends and I began our visit to the Urnes Stave Church in the small town of Sogndal, nestled deep within Norway’s fjord country. Most travelers heading to Urnes would simply drive to the nearby village of Solvorn and take the short ferry across the Lustrafjord to Urnes or Ornes. But instead of following the usual route, we decided to take the long way around, driving along the fjord through Skjolden and looping down the opposite side toward Urnes.

It turned out to be one of the most memorable drives of our trip. The road was narrow and winding, hugging the edge of the Lustrafjord as it curved through small farms, forests, and quiet hamlets. Often it narrowed into a single lane where two cars could barely pass. The scenery was breathtaking: steep green slopes plunging into deep blue water, occasional glimpses of waterfalls, and scattered wooden houses clinging to the hillsides. At times, the road led into dark, one-lane tunnels carved straight through the rock, where headlights illuminated only a small circle ahead. The air inside felt cool and damp. It was nerve-racking, yes, but also strangely beautiful. As we approached the small village of Ornes at the end of the fjord, the road climbed gently uphill through clusters of houses and farms. Only then did the Urnes Stave Church come into view, a modest, dark wooden structure standing quietly on the slope above the fjord. From a distance it looked simple, almost humble, but up close its details …

When I first arrived at Bryggen in Bergen, my impression was simple: a picturesque row of colorful wooden houses lining the harbor, the kind of view that perfectly fits a postcard of Norway. Their neat gabled facades, painted in warm reds, ochres, and whites, seemed to be all there was to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, beautiful remnants of the Hanseatic League’s trading past, preserved for modern admiration. I thought Bryggen was merely a charming backdrop for photos, a historic façade telling a simple story of bygone merchant prosperity.

Luckily, my hotel was located just next to Bryggen, which allowed me to explore it at different times of the day. During the daytime, the site is undeniably crowded and touristy, with groups of visitors filling the waterfront to take photos of the iconic colorful buildings. Most tourists stop there, admiring only the façade from the harbor without realizing that behind it lies an entirely different world. Yet if you take the time to slip through one of the narrow alleyways, the atmosphere changes immediately. Behind the lively facade, Bryggen becomes surprisingly quiet and peaceful. The sound of the harbor fades, replaced by the creak of old timber and the soft echo of footsteps on worn wooden planks. The buildings themselves feel alive, walls slightly leaning after centuries of standing, beams darkened by rain and sea air, and roofs sagging gently with age. Some structures tilt toward each other so closely that the alley narrows into a tunnel of …

This is an excellent site for Cretaceous dinosaur fossils. Once a semi-tropical coastal plain, now the dry badlands erode rapidly with every rainfall, continuously revealing new fossils, many of which have been reassembled at major museums. While there’s camping and a self-drive loop, the majority of fossils are only seen on guided tours. That’s great, because the guides let you sit right among the fossils and even pick some small items up carefully, before returning them to the site. I held a 75 million year old T-Rex tooth in the palm of my hand—one of my favorite WHS experiences: https://zct.life/2023/08/11/dinosaur .

Compared to other fossil sites, this site is welcoming, accessible and hand-on. I learned a great deal from the guide, including skills like how to look for, find, and identify fossils which I have used with some success elsewhere. While Dinosaur National Monument in the US has some exceptional exhibits, such as a fossil wall, and is in a beautiful large park, I enjoyed the Canadian WHS due to the personal interaction. Here you feel like a paleontologist, and maybe you’ll discover something new when you visit.

A WHS as we like them because, like the Loire Valley, it combines nature, culture and sport!

And since we don't have sea legs, we traveled it by bike in 2023. The pleasure of this means of transport along a canal: it's completely flat, you don't get tired.

Like the other writers on WHS.org, given the length of the site, we had to make a choice and our choice fell on the region of Castelnaudary and Toulouse, firstly in memory of my youth because I had already been there a long time ago to go hiking in the Montagne Noire, then because we had never visited Toulouse before.

The place lived up to our expectations. The canal is magnificent, bucolic, and above all, relaxing. Nothing is more pleasant than sitting on a bench watching the barges in a lock, or reading why and how the canal was built, which I won't dwell on: others have done it very well before me.

One of our excursions from the campsite, where we enjoyed an excellent, family-style cassoulet, originating in Castelnaudary, was to the Saint-Férréol reservoir. The idea was to see the watershed that feeds the canal. There isn't much to see there, as the lawn has replaced the reservoir water, but there is still a nearby memorial column, "La pierre de Riquet" (the canal's engineer-designer), lost in the middle of nowhere, which added to my enjoyment.

The Castelnaudary region is a good base for visiting Toulouse, where there is also St-Sernin, listed …

Please bear with me as this is my first time writing a review

Having visited other relatively remote WHS properties in the past, I wasn’t necessarily intimidated by the challenges already pointed out by other travelers, but I tried some new approaches that I think could be helpful for anyone planning to visit now.

Overall Review of the Site

The property spans 5 locations spread out across 3 mountains. Alto de Segovia is, by far, the most impressive with the highest number of hypogea. Out of the other four, El Tablón does not have any hypogea but rather 9 megalithic figures, making it different from the rest, although not necessarily impressive (especially if you’ve visited San Agustín or Quirigua). The Alto de Segovia, Alto del Duende, and El Tablón are easy to reach, but do require a slight hike. Alto de San Andrés does require a muddier hike on a separate mountain, and Alto del Aguacate requires the most strenuous and longest hike, requiring you to reach yet another mountaintop. The hypogea themselves are interesting in their own right, as they are pretty unique, mixing elements of megalithic building (such as at the Antequera Dolmens) with ancient wall painting. Having visited almost every other pre-Hispanic WHS, I have not seen anything similar. Although not necessarily the most impressive thing to view, the setting and the history of the site do help understand the site’s OUV and appreciate the rituals of this yet-to-be-named culture.

Getting There (and Back)

I had read …

Another WHS site in France, another Gothic cathedral.

With its original features, Sainte-Cécile d'Albi has nothing to do with the one in Bourges, which we visited the same year. Where we visited the archetypal Gothic cathedral, here we discover a completely atypical cathedral built with no fewer than 25 million bricks, a rather rare occurrence for a cathedral in France! Unlike stone, this material does not allow for much imagination, which is probably what gives it its austere appearance at first glance. However, the more recent exterior buttresses and choir turrets give it majesty and slenderness.

This magnificent monument offers a wonderfully colorful interior world, still displaying its original rood screen (15th century), a veritable stone lacework that somewhat disrupts the reading of the interior volume of the cathedral-hall (that is, without side aisles). We crane one's neck to admire the 16th-century paintings on the walls and ceiling: a pure marvel (The photo).

It is like a precious stone carefully placed in the velvet of its jewelry box, but let us not forget that the defensive aspect of the cathedral and the other buildings of the archiepiscopal city of Albi are the trace of a succession of ecclesiastical betrayals, murders, powers assumed and claimed in the aftermath of the crusade against the Cathars...

It's a real discovery to be made, to drag your trainers around the episcopal city with a view of the Tarn (The photo) and through the alleys of the old town, then to enjoy the good weather …

Ksar Hedada might be off the TWHS, but it is probably the most visited site in the region. The Ksar was used as filming location for Star Wars: Episode 1 (representing Mos Espa, the birthplace of Anakin Skywalker, for those into Star Wars) and that is why it is popular with visitors. Half of the Ksar was heavily reconstructed and now includes some shops and a restaurant. Entrance fee is 2 Dinar and you can explore the reconstructed, as well as the untouched part.

It’s not clear to me, why this Ksar had been removed and is not part of the current TWHS, that includes many other Ksars in this region. In terms of partial reconstruction it’s exactly the same level as Ouled Debbab (the reconstructed part is housing a museum, a restaurant and a hotel) or Jouamaa (the whole complex is a currently closed hotel).

Time of the visit: the 16th of oct.,2025

In the morning I took a KMX train from Busan to Daegu-Dongdaegu,from there I had to take the metro to get to Daegu's Seobu Bus Terminal.There is an hourly bus going to the Haeimsa temple via Goryeong.All buses of that fixed route stop there.

I got off one stop before the final stop, as from there you can walk directly up to the temple complex. The temple is massive and consists of many sub-temples. I first went to the halls where the Tripitaka Koreana is housed, a complete collection of Buddhist scriptures in Chinese language carved onto over 80,000 wooden printing blocks.You can take a look through the wooden bars, but you can't see much.An oversized photo of the interior can be viewed directly outside the storage halls.

I then visited most of the sub-temples.There are two cafes inside the temple premises.I had one needed coffee in one of them.All in all I stayed more or less 3 h inside the temple complex.I missed some of the side temples,but had the feeling that I had seen enough to get a good overview of that whs.Surrounded by beautiful mountains and crossed by beautiful streams, Haeinsa remains an active center of Korean Seon (Zen) Buddhism and a symbol of Korea’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage.Regardless of the high importance for the Koreans and Buddhism in general I for my part found the Tongdosa temple complex near Busan far more impressive.

On the way back …

When I visited during an unplanned stopover in July 2025, I had given this already a thumbs down, before I even stepped foot into the museum. There was no way, that a building from 2019 would already become a WHS.

Upon arrival I had to admit, that the building looks impressive and amazing. The desert rose shape is clearly visible and even though the whole complex is massive, it feels good to wander around. There was some minor renovations going on and I had trouble to find the entrance. Entrance was free and the exhibition, as mentioned by Els, very impressive. Everything is top notch, with interactive elements and spacious rooms. It is kind of funny, that a country I would describe as rather boring is presenting itself in such an interesting way.

The palace is a cool feature, but it is so heavily restored, that I (no, I did not do any kind of research before visiting) thought it was fake, before reading the information boards.

Did I change my mind after the visit? Yes, I did. The building is new. But Qatar is new. I only looked at it from a European perspective, where we have tons of sites from 50’000 years of human activity. But that’s not the right angle. There is not much left from the really old sites, like Al Zubarah or Al Da’asa. Something like the national museum would represent Qatar and the history and identity of the region much better. So yes Qatar, …

It's not easy to reach the old town of Bourges by mobile home. We had to leave it at the bottom of town along the Auron River and walk back up.

What we discover is the archetype of the Gothic cathedral, with its long nave, its slender windows, its flying buttresses, a gigantic stone vessel stranded in the city... Historians agree that "the building is remarkable as much for its harmonious proportions, linked to the unity of its design, as for the quality of its tympanums, its sculptures and its stained glass windows" (Wikipedia).

As far as sculptures and stained glass are concerned, many other Christian buildings can rival this one, but it is true that the unity of its construction (from 1195 BC to 1324 BC) is clearly visible (Introductory photo). Unfortunately, the discovery of this ogre did not leave us with an indelible memory. This is only a question of personal feeling, which does not in any way detract from the plastic and historical quality of this building, of course.

So why Bourges WHS when there are those of Amiens, Chartres, Reims and Soissons built at the same time in the same style, including Amiens, Chartres and Reims listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Is it different? Is the difference such that it justifies an "exceptional" quality? The answer is yes and no. After comparing the plans of each of these cathedrals, we can read that the Saint-Etienne Cathedral of Bourges is a variant of the …